Saturday, February 28, 2009

The last day of the second month of the last year of this century to have single digits.....I am so glad this wasn't leap year, because it is gonna be a real mutha for ya.... We Be playin' new sstuff in the first hour .... some of the artists with new releases within the last year or so with a little continuity bass line thrown in for the downbeat.... Yazzir.

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Ash Wednesday begins Lent so there are some things to be considered - fasting, abstinence, penance and oblations. Well, in music that must mean not so much Shostakovich, no wild new pieces, music that is not my favorite, and offerings to the poor in music. Hmmmmmm. Well this will somehow reflect our Wednesday programming throughout Lent (to the best of my ability!).

O.K., I admit, I'm still dizzy from Fat Tuesday, which makes this a good day for fasting (tiny portions) and abstinence (no meat). But really, Ash Wednesday is a very special day for me and Lent a special time. Bless us all with mercy and grace.

Chambers Bros - Time Has Come TodayAssociation - Along Comes Mary, I'll Be Your Man, Enter the Young, Blistered - all from their first album, recorded 1966Leonard Cohen - on tour now for the first time in about 15 years - Famous Blue Raincoat, First We Take Manhattan? and the Mysterians - 96 TearsBobby Fuller Four - I Fought the LawElectric Prunes - I Had Too Much to DreamOutsiders - Time Won't Let MeJimmy Buffett - Fins, VolcanoStandells - Dirty WaterSyndicate of Sound - Little GirlSantana - Evil Ways, Everything's Coming Our Way, Everybody's EverythingJoe cocker - Do I Still Figure in Your Life?, Bird on the Wire (Leonard Cohen), With a Little Help from My Friends (Lennon/McCartney)Jimi Hendrix - The Wind Cries Mary, All Along the Watchtower (Dylan)Derek and the Dominos (Eric Clapton, Bobby Whitlock, Duane Allman, Jim Gordon, Carl Radle - they put out only one album, in 1972, but it's one of the best ever) - Little Wing (Hendrix)Plain White T's - Hey There DelilahNeil Young - Cowgirl in the Sand

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Welcome to Fat Tuesday! Yes, it is Mardi Gras time as folks all celebrate that most famous of Tuesdays on the calendar. So we shall have some "carnival" music and some "Shrovetide" music. But to start it off: Vivaldi: Concerto for Flute and Orchestra in D major "Il Gaardellino" (the Goldfinch), RV 428, Janet See - flute, Micholas McGegan at the podium with the Philharmonia Baroque. Corelli: Fantasy on a Them of Corelli by Red Priest, the ensemble Red Priest performing. Lidstrom: Carnival of Venice (1996) (variations on a very famous theme), Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg - violin; Matt Lidstrom & Lynn Harrell on cellos. Vivaldi: Concerto grosso in A minor, RV 522, once again Red Priest performs. Schubert: the second of his piano trios: Trio in E flat major for piano, violin and cello, Op. 100, D929, Vladimir Ashkenazy - piano, Pinchas Zukerman - violin, Lynn Harrell - cello. Griffes: The White Peacock, JoAnn Falletta conducting the Buffalo Philharmonic. Respighi: Ouverture carnevalesca, Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra, Adriano conducting. Stravinsky: Petrouchka, Lalo Schifrin conducting the Paris Philharmonic Orchestra. Grieg: Peer Gynt Suite No. 1, Op. 46, Raymond Leppard and the English Chamber Orchestra. Milhaud: (variations on a theme he heard in So. America at Carnival time) The Ox on the Roof, Kent Nagano and the Lyon Opera Orchestra. Saint-Saens provides the last carnival: The Carnival of the Animals, Yoel Levi and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. Tomorrow the whole story behind Peer Gynt.

Next: Iberia by Claude Debussy, this from his "Images pour orchestre" and not to be confused with the "Iberia" by Albeniz. Simon Rattle and the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra.

Sibelius: Symphony No. 6 played by the Berlin Philharmonic led by Herbert von Karajan.

Prokofiev's return to Russia led to this bit of movie music: The Lieutenant Kije Suite performed by Paavo Jarvi and the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra.

A new Release from JRI Recordings features Nancy Green on cello and Tannis Gibson on piano in the performance of some wonderful chamber works. First: from Richard Strauss' Sonata for Cello and Piano in F major, Op. 8 the Allegro con brio.

To start the second half of the program an oveture from Hector Berlioz: the Roman Carnival Overture, Sir Colin Davis and the Staatskapelle Dresden.

From Bohuslav Martinu we have his "Symphony No. 5" performed for us by the National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine.

Anatol Liadov is hard to find but he is out there. Here is his "the Enchanted Lake" performed by Enrique Batiz and the Mexico City Philharmonic Orchestra.

Vassily Klinnikov is pure Russian. It would be fun to perform one of his symphonies - he is sooo Russian! Here is his Symphony No. 2 in A, National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine.

To put a cap on things here is the Sonata for cello and piano by Zoltan Kodaly, once again the duo of Green and Gibson performs.

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

The midweek brings us to the time of the "major Symphony" and today's major Symphony will be by Dmitri Shostakovich. However to start we will have to go to:

Boccherini - his Oboe Quintet with Sarah Francis on the Oboe and the Allegri String Quartet.

Haydn - Cello Concerto No. 1 in C major, Yo-Yo Ma on the Cello and the English Chamber Orchestra under the baton of Jose-Luis Garcia.

Richard Strauss' "Till Eulenspiegels lustige Streiche" is a always a concert favorite, here it is performed by SWR Radio-Sinfonieorchester Stuttgart under Georges Petre.

Next the Piano Trio in C, Op. 87 of Johannes Brahms performed by Vladimir Ashkenazy, Itzhak Perlman, and Lynn Harrell.

Mendelssohn's "Concert Overture for a Midsummer Night's Dream" is a marvel example of craftmanship by a young composer. Claudio Abbado and the London Symphony performing.

The scherzo from the Octet, Op. 20 of Mendelssohn is here presented in the form which it may be an alternative 3rd movement to his Symphony No. 1. Claudio Abbado once more with the London Symphony Orchestra.

The Symphony No. 10 in E minor by Dmitri Shostakovich is a very distinct composition from those written during the Stalin years. Yoel Levi and the Atlanta Symphony on this.

Sergei Prokofiev was a contemporary of Shostakovich but about 20 years older. His Sinfonia concertante was written originally as a cello concerto but by the time he completed it Prokofiev renamed it believing it was more a "symphony/concerto. Mischa Maisky is the cellist and Mikhail Pletnev conducts the Russian National Orchestra.

the final few moments will be filled by the Sonata for Solo Cello by Kodaly - Yo-Yo Ma playing.

Franck: Symphony in D, Jesus Lopez-Cobos conducting the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. It is too bad that there were not more symphonic works from Franck.

John Corigliano's "The Red Violin Score" brought about this "The Red Violin: Chaconne for violin and piano, Maria Bachman on the violin and Jon Klibonoff at the piano. This is a marvelous performance as is their Sonata for Violin and Piano by Ravel on the same CD.

Putting the violin before a full orchestra we have Max Bruch's Scottish Fantasy for Violin, Orchestra and Harp, Op. 46, James Ehnes on the violin, Mario Barnardi conducting the Orchestre symphonique de Montreal.

The cello brings it all to a close with a Pezzo capriccio in B for cello & orch by Tchaikovsky. Zvill Bailey on the Cello the San Francisco Ballet Orchestra conducted by Martin West.

Sunday, February 15, 2009

This week on A Mudlark Sampler we observed Cross-Quarter Day - the midpoint between the solstice and Equinox. In days of old when knights were bold and pagans ruled the west...this time of year was known as Imbolc and is known as St. Brigid's Day among the Irish. Next, Candlemas marched in with the Holy Roman Empire. Groundhog Day, Lincoln's 200th, and then there's love. Happy Valentine all. Winter is over the hump regardless of the feet and feet of snow hereabouts.

A Mudlark Sampler is folk music for ears wide open on Saturdays from noon-2.

Over and Out.

Chris

Cut / Artist / Album

Snowbird / Rani Arbo & Daisy Mayhem / Cocktail Swing

Winter's Come & Gone / Herdman, Hills, Mangsen / At the Turning of the Year

Pitkin County Turnaround / Steve Martin / The Crow

Horizontal Hold / Peter Ostroushko / Blue Mesa

Unspoken Words / Steve Martin / The Crow

Pretty Flowers / Martin w/ Vince Gill & Dolly Parton / The Crow

Groundhog / The Doc Watson Family / The Doc Watson Family

Shut de Door / Tim & Molli O'Brien / Remember Me

Where is the Light / Peter Mayer / Midwinter

Cocktail Swing / Rani Arbo & Daisy Mayhem / Cocktail Swing

Joy Comes Back / Rani Arbo & Daisy Mayhem / Big Old Life

Snowy Road / Laurie Lewis & Tom Rozum / Winter's Grace

My Window Faces the South / Hot Club of Cowtown / Continental Stomp

I Can't Give You Anything but Love / Hot Club of Cowtown / Continental Stomp

Sugar for Sugar / Robin & Linda Williams / Sugar for Sugar

Bob's Breakdown / Asleep at the Wheel / Ride with Bob

Swing Twain / Ranch Romance / Flip City

Western Dream / Ranch Romance / Western Dream

One Step McGee / Red Stick Ramblers / Red Stick Ramblers

Red Bird / Red Bird / Red Bird

Old Plank Road / Robin & Linda Williams / Deeper Waters

Little Jack Frost / Kate Rusby / The Girl Who Couldn't Fly

Down by the Sally Garden / Red Bird / Red Bird

Wintergrace / Laurie Lewis & Tom Rozum / Winter's Grace

Green / Peter Mayer / Midwinter

Candlemas Eve / Hardman, Hills, Mangsen / At the Turning of the Year

Old Sister Phoebe / Songs in the Life of Abraham Lincoln v.3 / Matthew Sabatella & the Rambling String Band

The Piano Quartet of Gabriel Faure has a feel of the French Impressionism of his contemporaries with the steadfast grounding in the classical world. Not classical but also a little too formal for the Impressionist label he is very 20th Century here.

Abe Lincoln's birthday, but he didn't sing or at least wasn't prolific in recording, so instead we'll set honest Abe aside and dedicate today, Jason Isbell day in anticipation of his new cd Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit which comes out on Tuesday. Also a bunch of newly discovered music this week thanks to the incredible influence of Nine Bullets.

artist, song, album

nick cave and the bad seeds, hold on to yourself, dig lazarus dighere we go magic, ahab, here we go magicnick cave..., jesus of the moon, dig lazarus digjason isbell, the devil is my running mate, sirens of the ditchchris smither, origin of species, leave the light ondavina and the vagabonds, st. michael vs. the devil, live at the times

jason isbell, hurricanes and hand grenades, sirens of the ditch"", chicago promenade, ""martha wainwright, in the middle of the night, i know you're married but i've got feelings toobruce springsteen, the wrestler, working on a dreamotis gibbs, caroline, grandpa walked a picketlinebon iver, beach baby, blood bank epjason isbell, dress blues, sirens of the ditch

jason isbell, the magician, ""nick cave and the bad seeds, more news from nowhere, dig lazarus digryan adams and the cardinals, fix it, cardinologynorth twin, clear as day, strongest at the broken places

john paul kieth and the one four fives, pure cane sugar, spills and thrillso'death, down to rest, head homehank williams III, atlantic citylenny and the piss poor boys, lonely days and whiskey nights, lenny and the piss poor boysbright eyes, middleman, cassadaga

the gaslight anthem, here's lookin' at you kid, 59' sound"", even cowgirls get the blues, ""

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Starting off with a new release here is the Boston Baroque playing Winter from the Four Seasons by Antonio Vivaldi. Next Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 20, KV 466 played by Rudolf Serkin with Claudio Abbado conducting the London Symphony Orchestra. Every now and then we do have to feature Anton Bruckner and this is the anniversary of his Symphony No. 9, played here by the Dresden Staatskapelle with Eugen Jochum conducting. Originally premiered in a heavily edited manner in 1903 it wasn't until 1932 that the original version was performed in public. Another new release - this time featuring the cellist Zvill Bailey, the piece this time is the "Variations on a Rococo Theme" Op. 33 by Tchaikovsky. Martin West and the San Francisco Ballet Orchestra accompany. Rachmaninov was enamored of Tchaikovsky and had written several pieces that used themes by Tchaikovsky. On this one the inspiration is Paganini "Rhapsody on a Theme of Pagnini" Op. 43, Artur Rubenstein at the piano and Fritz Kreisler conducting the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. When Rachmaninov heard of Tchaikovsky's death he was devastated. In response to that he wrote two "Elegiac Trios" here is the second. Elegiac Trio No. 2 D minor, Op. 9, the Borodin Trio performing. Introducing a new composer to my program - Geir Tveitt. He is a Norwegian composer and not too well known outside of Europe. I hope this will help to create some interest in his work. He is grounded in the folk music of his country working as Kodaly and Janacek did to collect the folk songs of the Hardanger District. Here is a piece based on a Norwegian folk tale: Nykken, symphonic painting for orchestra, Op. 187 (1956), performed by the Stavanger Symphony Orchestra conducted by Ole Kristian Ruud. And more on the morrow . . . . . . .

Yeah, what about it? It is almost Valentine's day and I am going to give you some LOVE. Better than being in an ancient Roman prison like the real Valentine, huh? Send me a letter at juneaujazzcat@gmail.com. Maybe miracles do still happen. Here's my love letter, I hope it helps you heal. Luv ya, Mie.

Freddy Cole--Have I told You Lately that I Love You?Lee Ritenour--Haunted HeartElla Fitzgerald--The Man I LoveChet Baker--With a Song In My Heart

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

We have some new releases from Telarc and Crystal Records which I will be sharing with you this week. These will be marked with an * so you may identify them. I will also note the label they are issued under. So - to ward off any more snow here we go:

To begin with from the pen of George Frideric Handel we have an anniversary of a first performance so: Water Music Suite in D major, HWV 349 performed by the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra under the baton of David Zinman.

*New from Telarc: The Four Seasons featuring the Boston Baroque. We heard the Concerto grosso No. 12 in D minor Variations on La Follia - based on Corelli) Martin Pearlman leading the Boston Baroque.

The Symphony No 6 by George Antheil, American composer, Theodore Kuchar leading the National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine.

Isaac Albeniz's Iberia was next performed by the Orchestre de Paris under Daniel Barenboim, this was the orchestral transcription.

The opera "Tales of Hoffman" premiered on this date and for that there were three pieces by Jacques Offenbach. Anne Sophie von Otter was the soprano, Marc Minkowski conducted Les Musiciens du Louvre.

*A Capriccioso in B minor for cello and orchestra by Tchaikovsky, Zvill Bailey on the cello and Martin West conducting the San Francisco Ballet Orchestra.

Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 4 followed performed by the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra led by David Zinman.

*Zvill Bailey returns on the new Telarc CD with the Concerto No. 1 for Cello & Orchestra in E flat major by Dmitri Shostakovich, the San Francisco Ballet Orchestra under the baton of Martin West assisted.

It may be deja vu however we are once again closing with Romantic Pieces , Op. 75 of Antonin Dvorak. Isaac Stern and Robert McDonald performing.

Heartfelt week for the Hart High reunionites....It's snowing steadily in the downtown area and we had another avalanche over the weekend cutting off Thane for part of the day on Saturday... Lets welcome them back with a hot cup of coffee on Cafe' Au Lait, Ole' Today. . .

Thursday, February 5, 2009

Well, a day without snow, really, and one with a lot of great music. Starting with Mozart and proceeding to Mendelssohn it will culminate in some of the tuneful music of Antonin Dvorak.First, the Overture to Idomeneo, King of Crete, by Mozart, Bruno Weill conducting Tafelmusik.Franz Joseph Haydn is next with his Symphony No. 64 in A, Hob. I:64 Tempura mutantur, the Schlierbacher Kammerorchester conducted by Thomas Fey.Alexander Borodin once said that every composer has his themes, well here a the most popular themes of Borodin, the String Quartet No. 2 in D minor, the Emerson String Quartet performing.The unfinished finished, musicologist Brian Newbould finishes out the Symphony No.8 in B minor, D759, "the unfinished" by Franz Schubert. Sir Charles Mackerras and the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment.A waltz by Glazunov for a break: Concert Waltz No. 1 in D, Op. 47, Russian State Symphony Orchestra, Valeri Polyansky.To begin the second half: Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto in E minor, Op. 64 played by Hilary Hahn assiste by the Oslo Philharmonic under the baton of Hugh Wolff.Mikhail Ippolitov-Ivanov adds a little color to the afternoon with his "Caucasian Sketches" Op. 10 performed by the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra led by David Zinman.Another Symphony No. 8, this one very complete: The Symphony No. 8 in G major, Op. 88 by Antonin Dvorak, Andre Previn conducting the Los Angeles Philharmonic.To finish out: Romantic Pieces by Dvorak, Isaac Stern violin and Robert MacDonald piano.

1. Another Star - Stevie WonderConrad graciously put it on for me as I was stopped in Juneau traffic. Sheesh it was more like Seattle this morning. Well, all those folks who wish we were more like the lower 48 got their wish this morning HA! Conrad is awesome, BTW.

2. Ya Ati - Gangster soundtrack Back to Bollywood, although I do love the old Stevie Wonder stuff. Does anyone else find themselves dated when the "old" Stevie Wonder stuff that is pre- 80's fluff is over 30 years old? Yeah. no kidding.Ah well, we might get older but we can be immature forever!!!!!!!!!!!!

3. Chale Chalo - Lagaan soundtrack

4. Wahrane Wahrane - Khaled

5. Dilbara - Dhoom soundtrack. I love this movie. All these guys show up in brightly colored mesh shirts and act tough. Because all gangs wear mesh shirts in a rainbow of colors right? Its about jewel theives with singing and dancing. The theives dance too.

6. Jaandi Jaandi - Preet Brar

7. Harvest Moon - Solace

8. Azeem-o-Shaan Shashenshah - Jodhaa Akbar soundtrack. This is a most beautiful video from a beautiful movie. you should check it out. Mesmerising. I bought the soundtrack and its so beautifully done. Don't even get it on itunes. Just get the cd. Its a work of art. The movie is about this Mughal Emporer from the 16th century and the woman he married for political reasons and of course they fall in love after all becaue everyone knows that is how its supposed to work out. The $%^&! with historical accuracy! Let's just make it pretty. but hey, I'm sold.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6f4v_nFGNKA

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

There are guests on today's program - Kyle Pickett and Dewayne Corbin - and we will be discussing the forthcoming performances in two venues. Dewayne will give a percussion recital and then Kyle will lead the Juneau Symphony in the concert this weekend featuring the Shostakovich Symphony No. 5. Our music for the day included: Mozart: Symphony No. 16 in C, K 128, Sir Neville Marriner & the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields. Beethoven: Trio No 2, Op. 1 No. 2, the Beaux Arts Trio Shostakovich: Symphony No. 5 in D minor, Op. 47, Leonard Bernstein and the New York Philharmonic. Stravinsky: Ragtime for 11 Instruments and Tango; Igor Stravinsky conducting member of the Columbia Symphony. During the conversation with Kyle and Dewayne we played a piece feature percussion written by a composer whe will be performing tonight. Steve Reich: Tehillin, Movement 4, Schoenberg Ensemble Saint Saens: Danse macabre, Michel Plasson, Orchestre du Capitole de Toulouse Stravinsky: Song of the Nightingale Suite, Robert Craft, Columbia Symphony Orchestra Prokofiev: Sonata for violin & piano in F minor, Op. 80, Gidon Kremer - violin; Martha Argerich - piano.

Tuesday, February 3, 2009

A sad note for today is the passing away of the American composer, Lukas Foss. He was an important figure in American music and will be missed. An "In memoriam" will be on the list. To open: The Overture to Semiramide by Rossini, Yoel Levi and the Atlanta Symphony. For Lukas Foss: An elegy for Anne Frank, Carl St. Clair and the Pacific Symphony The concerto for piano and Orchestra No. 1, (1943), Carl St. Clair, Pacific Symphony Mendelssohn (his birthday!): from his "Songs without Words" - Daniel Adni - Piano String Symphony X in B minor, Patrick Strub, Kammerorchester Arcata Stuttgart Octet for strings, Concertante Chamber Players

It's Ground Hogs Day... Night anyway... The best way to cook these tasty little critters is to roast them over a mesquite fire on a spit after gutting them and marinating them in lime and citric juices along with garlic, rosemary and sage... Mmmmmmm.... Get a crisp on the skins and they are tasty little treats on a winters day... Do this in front of their families and their predictions will be a lot more sunnier!!!! Happy Ground Hogs day Bill Murray and Andie McDowell . . . .Our Guests tonight are local Jazz Afficianados who play and sing with such style...... TOM LOCHER AND SAMMY BAKER.... They will be performing at ZEPHERS on First Friday Februrary 6... Eeeeek! Get out and Listen to some multi octive wonderful Jazz along with WAYNE NORLAND on Sax.... Ya'sir!!!!Art Brown " St. Tropez" with Oscar Peterson (Some of my best friends are Piano Players)Ernestine Anderson "Jazz Street" (Now and Then) DEE DANIELS "Mid Life Crisis" (Feels So Good) MaryLou Williams "Gloria" (Zoning)Shirley Horn "Mack the Knife" (Ladies of JazzMadeleine Peyroux "Im Alright"Joe Pass "Come Rain or Come Shine"Dee Daniels "Love Aint Love Without You" Stan Getz & Goao Gilberto "Desafinado"Sergio Mendez & Brazil 66 "So Many Stars"Miles Davis "So What" (Kind of Blue)Billy Strayhorn "I Don't Stand a Ghost of a Chance" Curtis Stigers "You are too Beautiful" (Playboy Jazz Series)Ernestine Anderson "The Thrill is Gone"

Monday, February 2, 2009

Happy Groundhogs Day!!! PauxataneyPhil and Bill Murray saw their shadows (again) today assuring the rest of the nation another 6 weeks of winter... Here, it's winter all the time... and when it isn't, its fall.... Good morning Juneau and everywhere else... It's coffee time and Cafe Au Lait, Ole

Thanx to all the wonderful people who made the fundraiser for Montessori Schools HOT SALSA, COOL BALLROOM such a successful occasion on Saturday Night... And congratulations to the Democratic Central Committee meeting and their salute to our states 50th anniversary with keynote speaker, former Juneau Mayor,Alaska broadcaster and first son of our first governor... Dennis Egan.

Willie Nelson & WyntonMarsalis "That's All" (Willie & Wynton)Sonny Stitt (today is his birthday) "There Will Never Be Another You"Earl Klugh "Midnight in San Juan" (Best of)Joe Sample "Hippies on a Corner"

KRNN 102.7

Juneau’s unique home-made public radio tradition of everything from folk to jazz and from world music to the classics. The music is all handpicked and most of the programs are locally hosted by community volunteers who share both a love for music and public radio. KRNN on 102.7 celebrates Juneau’s diversity with an eclectic music schedule, a close connection to the community and a strong sense of place. – radio that’s conversational, curious and authentic.